In The Bunker
by elliekath
Summary: This is an adapted scene from 3.06, when Kate begs Jack to do the surgery. I imagined that Kate had been captured without Sawyer-this little One-Shot is the result of that.


Awash in dingy green light, Kate looked defeated. Deep wells had formed underneath her eyes, her hands hung limp at her sides. Something, it seemed, had been taken away from her.

Jack took a few steps up to the glass, Kate followed. It took all she had not to run and press herself up against the barrier. She could feel the warmth of Jack's hands traveling through the glass, faint, but familiar. She sighed deeply.

"I'll give you two some privacy," Juliet said, exiting the room and closing the heavy, iron door behind her. It shut with a grand squeal, and they were alone.

"Jack," she pleaded, giving in and leaning against the glass, "Jack, this is crazy…" There was a tinge of terror in her voice, that, though muffled by the barrier, sent a wave of guilt to his stomach. If there was anything or anyone on this Island Jack had the intention to protect, it was Kate. He shifted, and Kate's face seemed to crack in half, lips pulled with worry and eyes mashed shut. A single tear rolled down the side of her face.

"Hey, hey—it's going to be okay now, alright?" He was trying to stay calm, to resist the frantic urge to smash the glass and hold her. She melted under his touch more than once since they'd crashed; it was the most comfort either one of them could find. He needed to find a way to get to her. Jack turned around and stepped to the far corner of the glass enclosure, hand running along the pane in search of a seam. He hadn't realized how lonely he'd been in the bunker, before Kate stood so close.

"Jack? Hey—where are you going?" Kate whispered, terror blooming in her voice, now. She followed him to the side, but she could not see in the dark. When Jack did not answer, she tapped on the glass, rapping gently at first before banging with an open palm.

He was bent over now, shoulders working. He leaned over to face her for a moment, a finger pressed up against his lips. He signaled for her to back away and stay quiet. She obeyed, and with a metallic clank, Jack revealed an opening. It was a small square, the beginnings of what looked like a door for passing food back and forth. Jack stuck his hand through, reaching out for Kate. She knelt down and took his hand in hers, allowing him to cup her cheek and feel through her hair. She wrapped both of her hands around his and squeezed.

"I'm so glad I found you." Nearly breathless, Kate crawled closer to the opening.

"Can you fit through?" Jack chanced, praying she'd make it, needing her to. She seemed to consider before standing and thrusting her feet through. She was briefly hitched at her hips and shoulders, but made it over safely. "God, thank God," Jack panted, pulling her into his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her legs around his back, ankles crossing behind him. They hugged, grateful but cautious.

"Kate," Jack said, pulling away to ask sternly, "Did they hurt you?" Kate shook her head and brought her hand up to his face, studying the spots that had appeared under the sun and the shadow roughing his chin. It was not like him to be so open, so clear about his need to protect and be close. There was something noble, sweet about the break in his well practiced façade, even if he looked so tragic there on the floor, clinging to her. The admissions continued when he lifted her to the table, kissed her forehead and temple, the bruises on her collarbone. As gentle as the kisses he planted, he murmured, "I'm going to keep you safe." It was natural to say, something that he'd thought so many times, used as motivation, as repose. But, saying it to her, so near her, made it a promise.

Kate did not answer, but took Jack's face in her hands. They were still soft even after so much time working on the Island, warm, but damp with sweat. She searched his eyes, and found only love, only a wounded longing—"Stay with me, Jack." She placed her lips over his, feather light. He broke the kiss to twirl a curl away from her forehead, to tuck it behind her ear. "I will, you know that," he replied simply, returning to the kiss, with more greed this time. He worked his lips over hers, deepening when he felt her hands touring through his hair. Her tongue swiped over his bottom lip, licking over the chapped spots he bit when he was nervous. When she pulled away, her breath was even, slow. Jack swallowed hard, and spoke.

"They're not going to get you away from me now."

"We have to get out of here, Jack. Get back to the beach. Back to everyone."

"We'll do that," he soothed, tracing the ridge of her ear. "I just had to get back to you, first."


End file.
